Substrate Processing Apparatus and Method of Adjusting Height of Ring Member

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0094969, filed on Jul. 18, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus using plasma and a method of adjusting the height of a ring member in the substrate processing apparatus.

A semiconductor (or display) manufacturing process is a process for manufacturing a semiconductor device on a substrate (e.g., a wafer), and includes, for example, exposure, deposition, etching, ion implantation, and cleaning. In order to perform each manufacturing process, semiconductor manufacturing equipment that performs each process is provided in a clean room of a semiconductor manufacturing plant, and each process is performed on a substrate loaded in the semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

Processes using plasma, for example, etching and deposition, are widely used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. A substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate using plasma includes a process chamber maintained in a vacuum state, a support chuck that supports a substrate in the process chamber, and a focus ring that surrounds the outer circumference of the substrate seated on the support chuck. The focus ring is mounted to achieve highly uniform distribution of plasma on the surface of the substrate, and is etched together with the substrate by the plasma. Thus, as the etching process is performed on a plurality of substrates, the focus ring is also etched repeatedly, so the shape of the focus ring gradually changes. As the shape of the focus ring changes, the incident direction of ions and/or radicals on the substrate varies, resulting in a change in the etching characteristics of the substrate. Accordingly, the focus ring needs to be replaced when etching has been performed on more than a predetermined number of substrates or when the change in the shape of the focus ring exceeds a set limit.

In order to replace the focus ring at an appropriate time, it is important to check the degree of wear (e.g., etch amount) of the focus ring. Conventionally, an operator manually opens the process chamber or brings a measuring instrument, such as a measuring jig, into direct contact with the focus ring to check the degree of wear of the focus ring. However, in the former case, it may be difficult to properly check the degree of wear of the focus ring when needed, and in the latter case, the focus ring may be damaged, for example, scratched, due to physical contact with the measuring instrument.

The present disclosure provides a substrate processing apparatus capable of checking an etch amount of a ring member without opening a chamber and a method of adjusting the height of the ring member.

A substrate processing apparatus using plasma according to the present disclosure includes a process chamber defining a process space for a substrate, a chuck located in the process space and configured to support the substrate from below, a ring member located around an edge of the chuck, a ring lifting device configured to raise and lower the ring member, and a controller configured to measure an etch amount of the ring member and to adjust the height of the ring member based on the etch amount using the ring lifting device. A substrate-type sensor device having a shape corresponding to the substrate and including a laser light source and a camera is located in the process space. The laser light source emits a laser beam to the chuck and the ring member. The camera captures an image including the chuck and the ring member and transmits the image to the controller. The controller measures the etch amount of the ring member based on the image.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate-type sensor device may be moved into the process space while being supported by a robot hand of a transfer robot. With the substrate-type sensor device being supported by the robot hand and spaced apart from the chuck, the laser light source may direct the laser beam toward the chuck and the ring member, and the camera may capture the image.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the substrate-type sensor device may transmit the image to the controller via a wireless communication module.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may detect a chuck reference line corresponding to a surface of the chuck in the image, may detect a ring reference line corresponding to an upper surface of the ring member, and may compare the position of the chuck reference line with the position of the ring reference line to measure the etch amount of the ring member.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may compare a first image captured at a first time point with a second image captured after a predetermined time period has elapsed from the first time point or after a process has been performed a predetermined number of times to measure the etch amount of the ring member.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may detect a first chuck reference line corresponding to a surface of the chuck and a first ring reference line corresponding to an upper surface of the ring member in the first image and may measure a first distance between the first chuck reference line and the first ring reference line in the first image.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may detect a second chuck reference line corresponding to the surface of the chuck and a second ring reference line corresponding to the upper surface of the ring member in the second image and may measure a second distance between the second chuck reference line and the second ring reference line in the second image.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may measure the etch amount of the ring member based on a difference between the first distance and the second distance.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may control the ring lifting device to raise the ring member when the etch amount of the ring member exceeds a reference value.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may control the ring lifting device to raise the ring member by a height corresponding to the etch amount of the ring member.

A method of adjusting the height of a ring member located around an edge of a chuck supporting a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus using plasma according to the present disclosure includes placing a substrate-type sensor device, having a shape corresponding to the substrate and including a laser light source and a camera, in a process space in a process chamber, emitting, by the laser light source, a laser beam to the chuck and the ring member, capturing, by the camera, an image including the chuck and the ring member, measuring an etch amount of the ring member based on the image, and adjusting the height of the ring member based on the etch amount of the ring member.

A substrate processing apparatus using plasma according to the present disclosure includes a process chamber defining a process space for a substrate, a transfer robot including a robot hand configured to transfer the substrate to the process space, a chuck located in the process space and configured to support the substrate from below, a ring member located around an edge of the chuck, a ring lifting device configured to raise and lower the ring member, and a controller configured to measure an etch amount of the ring member and to adjust the height of the ring member based on the etch amount using the ring lifting device. A substrate-type sensor device having a shape corresponding to the substrate and including a laser light source and a camera is located in the process space while being supported by the robot hand. With the substrate-type sensor device being supported by the robot hand and spaced apart from the chuck, the laser light source emits a laser beam to the chuck and the ring member. The camera captures an image including the chuck and the ring member and transmits the image to the controller. The controller compares a first image captured at a first time point with a second image captured after a predetermined time period has elapsed from the first time point or after a process has been performed a predetermined number of times to measure the etch amount of the ring member.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily carry out the embodiments. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

Parts irrelevant to description of the present disclosure will be omitted to clearly describe the present disclosure, and the same or similar constituent elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the specification.

In addition, constituent elements having the same configurations in several embodiments will be assigned with the same reference numerals and described only in the representative embodiment, and only constituent elements different from those of the representative embodiment will be described in the other embodiments.

Throughout the specification, when a constituent element is said to be “connected”, “coupled”, or “joined” to another constituent element, the constituent element and the other constituent element may be “directly connected”, “directly coupled”, or “directly joined” to each other, or may be “indirectly connected”, “indirectly coupled”, or “indirectly joined” to each other with one or more intervening elements interposed therebetween. In addition, throughout the specification, when a constituent element is referred to as “comprising”, “including”, or “having” another constituent element, the constituent element should not be understood as excluding other elements, so long as there is no special conflicting description, and the constituent element may include at least one other element.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, which include technical or scientific terms, have the same meanings as those generally appreciated by those skilled in the art. The terms, such as ones defined in common dictionaries, should be interpreted as having the same meanings as terms in the context of pertinent technology, and should not be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined in the specification.

1000 A substrate processing apparatus as semiconductor manufacturing equipment of the embodiment may be used to perform a process on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a flat display panel. In particular, the substrate processing apparatusof the embodiment is an apparatus that performs an etching or deposition process on a substrate using plasma.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 1000 1000 100 300 700 100 300 is a view schematically showing the structure of the substrate processing apparatusaccording to the present disclosure. Referring to, the substrate processing apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an index unit, a processing unit, and a controller. The index unitand the processing unitmay be arranged in a first direction X when viewed from above. Hereinafter, when viewed from above, a direction that is perpendicular to the first direction X is defined as a second direction Y. In addition, a direction that is perpendicular to the first direction X and the second direction Y is defined as a third direction Z. Here, the third direction Z may be a direction that is perpendicular to the ground.

100 110 130 150 170 The index unitmay include a load port, an index chamber, a first transfer robot, and a side buffer.

200 200 200 110 200 200 200 110 200 200 200 110 200 200 200 200 370 200 800 200 370 a b c a b c a b c a b c a b c Containers,, andmay be seated on the load port. Various types of containers,, andmay be seated on the load port. For example, various types of containers,, andstoring different items may be seated on the load port. For example, among the containers,, and, the first containermay store a ring member R that is to be transferred to a process chamber, which will be described later, and/or a carrier used to transfer the ring member R. In addition, the second containermay store a substrate-type sensor device, which will be described later. In addition, the third containermay store a substrate W (e.g., a wafer), which is a workpiece to be processed in the process chamber.

200 800 200 200 800 a b c However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the first containermay store at least one of the ring member R, the carrier, the substrate-type sensor device, or the substrate W. Similarly, each of the second containerand the third containermay also store at least one of the ring member R, the carrier, the substrate-type sensor device, or the substrate W.

200 200 200 110 110 200 200 200 200 200 200 110 a b c a b c a b c The containers,, andmay be transferred to and loaded on the load portor may be unloaded and transferred from the load portby a container transfer device. The container transfer device may be an overhead hoist transport (OHT), but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The containers,, andmay be transferred by various other transfer devices. Alternatively, an operator may manually load or unload the containers,, andon or from the load port.

1000 800 200 370 150 350 1000 800 370 200 150 350 b b The substrate processing apparatusaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure may transfer the substrate-type sensor devicestored in the second containerto the process chamberusing a first transfer robotand a second transfer robot, which will be described later. In addition, the substrate processing apparatusmay transfer the substrate-type sensor devicehaving performed measurement in the process chamberto the second containerusing the first transfer robotand the second transfer robot, which will be described later.

130 110 300 110 130 130 170 130 150 130 150 800 200 200 200 110 310 170 150 800 200 a b c b. The index chambermay be provided between the load portand the processing unit. That is, the load portmay be connected to the index chamber. The index chambermay be maintained at atmospheric pressure. The side buffer, which is a storage unit, may be mounted on one side of the index chamber. In addition, the first transfer robotmay be provided in the index chamber. The first transfer robotmay transfer the substrate W, the substrate-type sensor device, and the ring member R between the containers,, andseated on the load port, a load lock chamberto be described later, and the side buffer. That is, the first transfer robotmay unload the substrate-type sensor devicefrom the second container

300 310 330 350 370 The processing unitmay include a load lock chamber, a transfer chamber, a second transfer robot, and a process chamber.

310 330 130 310 130 330 310 310 330 310 330 130 The load lock chambermay be disposed between the transfer chamberand the index chamber. That is, the load lock chambermay be connected to the index chamberand the transfer chamber. The load lock chamberprovides a space in which the substrate W and/or the ring member R is temporarily stored. The load lock chambermay be provided with a vacuum pump (not shown) and a valve (not shown) to switch the internal atmosphere thereof between atmospheric pressure and vacuum. Because the internal atmosphere of the transfer chamber, which will be described later, is maintained in a vacuum, the internal atmosphere of the load lock chambermay be switched between atmospheric pressure and vacuum in order to transfer the substrate W and the ring member R between the transfer chamberand the index chamber.

330 310 370 330 350 330 350 310 370 350 370 330 350 352 350 352 350 352 The transfer chambermay be disposed between the load lock chamberand the process chamber. The internal atmosphere of the transfer chambermay be maintained in a vacuum, as described above. In addition, the second transfer robotmay be provided in the transfer chamber. The second transfer robotmay transfer the substrate W and the ring member R between the load lock chamberand the process chamber. The second transfer robotmay transfer the substrate W or the ring member R between the process space in the process chamberand the transfer chamber. The second transfer robotincludes a robot hand. The second transfer robotmay be configured to allow the robot handto move in the first direction X, the second direction Y, or the third direction Z. In addition, the second transfer robotmay be configured to allow the robot handto rotate about an axis extending in the third direction Z.

370 330 370 350 330 370 370 370 370 370 370 370 370 At least one process chambermay be connected to the transfer chamber. The process chambermay receive the substrate W from the second transfer robotprovided in the transfer chamber, and may perform a predetermined process. The process chambermay be a chamber that performs a predetermined process on the substrate W. The process chambermay be a liquid processing chamber that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate W to process the substrate W. Alternatively, the process chambermay be a plasma chamber that processes the substrate W using plasma. Alternatively, some of the process chambersmay be liquid processing chambers that supply a processing liquid to the substrate W to process the substrate W, and the others thereof may be plasma chambers that process the substrate W using plasma. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the process chambermay be configured to perform various other known substrate processing processes. Furthermore, if the process chamberis a plasma chamber that processes the substrate W using plasma, the plasma chamber may be a chamber that performs an etching or ashing process of removing a thin film on the substrate W using plasma. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the process chambermay be configured to perform various other known plasma processing processes. The detailed structure of the process chamberwill be described later.

1 FIG. 330 370 330 330 370 In addition, althoughillustrates an example in which the transfer chamber, when viewed from above, has a substantially hexagonal shape and four process chambersare connected to the transfer chamber, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the shape of the transfer chamberand the number of process chambersmay vary depending on operational requirements or the number of substrates to be processed.

700 1000 700 100 300 700 150 350 700 370 330 370 The controllermay control the substrate processing apparatus. The controllermay control the index unitand the processing unit. The controllermay control the first transfer robotand the second transfer robot. The controllermay control the substrate processing apparatus provided in the process chamberand the transfer chamberto process the substrate W using plasma in the process chamber.

700 1000 1000 1000 1000 700 560 Furthermore, the controllermay include a process controller implemented as a microprocessor (computer) that controls the substrate processing apparatus, a user interface including a keyboard that enables an operator to input commands for management of the substrate processing apparatusor a display that visually displays the operational state of the substrate processing apparatus, and a memory unit storing a control program for execution of a process in the substrate processing apparatusunder the control of the process controller or a program that enables the components to perform a process based on various data and processing conditions, i.e., a process recipe. Furthermore, the user interface and the memory unit may be connected to the process controller. The process recipe may be stored in a memory medium of the memory unit. The memory medium may be a hard disk, a transportable disk such as a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) or digital versatile disc (DVD), or a semiconductor memory such as flash memory. In the present disclosure, the controllermeasures an etch amount of the ring member R, which will be described later, and adjusts the height of the ring member R using a ring lifting devicebased on the etch amount.

2 3 FIGS.and 2 FIG. 3 FIG. 370 330 370 are views showing the substrate processing apparatus according to the present disclosure.shows the substrate processing apparatus provided in the process chamber.shows the substrate processing apparatus provided in the transfer chamberand the process chamber. The substrate processing apparatus may transmit plasma to the substrate W to process the substrate W.

510 520 530 540 550 560 570 580 590 The substrate processing apparatus may include a process chamber, a gate valve, an exhaust line, a power supply unit, a support unit, a ring lifting device, a substrate lifting module, a baffle plate, and a gas supply unit.

510 511 510 510 511 511 510 512 510 520 512 The process chambermay define a process spacefor the substrate W. The process chambermay be grounded. The process chambermay provide a process spacein which the substrate W is processed. The process spacein the process chambermay be maintained in a substantially vacuum state during the processing of the substrate W. A loading/unloading port, through which the substrate W or the ring member R is loaded and unloaded, may be formed in one side of the process chamber. The gate valvemay selectively open and close the loading/unloading port.

514 510 530 514 530 510 510 514 532 514 532 532 532 532 514 An exhaust holemay be formed in the bottom surface of the process chamber. The exhaust linemay be connected to the exhaust hole. The exhaust linemay discharge a process gas supplied to the process space in the process chamberand a process byproduct to the outside of the process chamberthrough the exhaust hole. In addition, an exhaust platemay be provided above the exhaust holein order to more uniformly discharge gas from the process space. The exhaust platemay have a substantially ring-like shape when viewed from above. In addition, at least one exhaust hole may be formed in the exhaust plate. The operator may select an exhaust platecapable of uniformly discharging gas from the process space from among a plurality of exhaust plates with various shapes and sizes, and may mount the selected exhaust plateabove the exhaust hole.

510 516 516 550 516 554 550 In addition, the process chambermay further include a support member. The support membermay support at least a portion of a base part of the support unit, which will be described later. For example, the support membermay be configured to support a lower side of an insulating plateof the support unit.

540 590 540 542 544 542 544 552 The power supply unitmay generate radio-frequency (RF) power to excite a process gas supplied from the gas supply unit, which will be described later, into a plasma state. The power supply unitmay include a power supplyand a matcher. The power supplyand the matchermay be mounted on a power transmission line. Furthermore, the power transmission line may be connected to a chuck.

550 510 550 552 554 556 The support unitmay support the substrate W in the process space in the process chamber. The support unitmay include a chuck, an insulating plate, a quartz ring.

552 511 552 552 552 552 552 The chuckis located in the process spaceto support the substrate W from below. The chuckmay have a support surface that supports the substrate W. The chuckmay support the substrate W and may chuck the supported substrate W. For example, an electrostatic plate (not shown) may be provided inside the chuckto chuck the substrate W with electrostatic force. For example, the chuckmay be an electrostatic chuck (ESC). However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the chuckmay also be configured to chuck the substrate W through a vacuum adsorption method.

554 552 556 554 554 554 The insulating platemay be disc-shaped when viewed from above. The chuckdescribed above and the quartz ringto be described later may be disposed on the insulating plate. The insulating platemay be made of a dielectric material. For example, the insulating platemay be made of a material including ceramic.

556 556 556 552 556 552 The quartz ringmay be made of a material including quartz. The quartz ringmay have a ring-like shape when viewed from above. The quartz ringmay have a shape that surrounds the chuckwhen viewed from above. The quartz ringmay be formed in a shape that surrounds the substrate W supported by the chuckwhen viewed from above.

556 556 556 552 In addition, the quartz ringmay have a stepped shape in which the upper surface of the inner side thereof and the upper surface of the outer side thereof have different heights. For example, the upper surface of the inner side of the quartz ringmay have a smaller height than the upper surface of the outer side thereof. In addition, the ring member R (e.g., a focus ring) may be disposed on the upper surface of the inner side of the quartz ring. The ring member R is located around the edge of the chuck.

554 552 554 552 A sealing member may be provided between the insulating plateand the chuckin order to prevent the occurrence of arcing in the gap between pin holes formed in the insulating plateand the chuck.

560 556 560 562 564 562 554 556 562 564 564 562 564 A ring lifting devicemay raise and lower the ring member R disposed on the upper surface of the inner side of the quartz ring. The ring lifting devicemay include a ring lifting pinand a ring lifting pin lifter. The ring lifting pinmay be moved up and down along a pin hole formed in the insulating plateand/or the quartz ring. Furthermore, the ring lifting pinmay be moved up and down by the ring lifting pin lifter. That is, the ring lifting pin liftermay raise and lower the ring lifting pin. The ring lifting pin liftermay be a cylinder using pneumatic or hydraulic pressure or may be a motor.

570 552 570 572 574 576 578 572 554 552 572 576 574 576 578 576 572 The substrate lifting modulemay raise and lower the substrate W placed on the chuck. The substrate lifting modulemay include a substrate lifting pin, a substrate lifting pin lifter, a lifting plate, and a bellows. The substrate lifting pinmay be moved up and down along the pin hole formed in the insulating plateand/or the chuck. The substrate lifting pinmay be coupled to the lifting plate, which receives power from the substrate lifting pin lifter, and may be moved up and down by lifting of the lifting plate. In addition, the bellowsmay be mounted on a connection portion between the lifting plateand the substrate lifting pinin order to secure airtightness.

580 550 580 582 580 582 582 580 580 590 The baffle platemay be provided above the support unit. The baffle platemay be made of an electrode material. At least one baffle holemay be formed in the baffle plate. As one example, the baffle holemay be provided in plural, and the plurality of baffle holesmay be evenly formed over the entire area of the baffle platewhen viewed from above. The baffle plateallows a process gas supplied from the gas supply unit, which will be described later, to be uniformly delivered to the substrate W.

590 510 540 590 592 594 594 592 510 592 580 594 580 510 582 The gas supply unitmay supply a process gas to the process space in the process chamber. The process gas may be a gas that is excited into a plasma state by the power supply unitdescribed above. The gas supply unitmay include a gas sourceand a gas supply line. One end of the gas supply linemay be connected to the gas source, and the other end thereof may be connected to an upper portion of the process chamber. Accordingly, the process gas delivered by the gas sourcemay be supplied to an upper region of the baffle platethrough the gas supply line. The process gas supplied to the upper region of the baffle platemay be introduced into the process space in the process chamberthrough the baffle hole.

3 FIG. 330 510 350 330 350 352 352 511 510 572 570 352 511 572 552 As shown in, the transfer chamberis mounted adjacent to the process chamber. The second transfer robot, which is a transfer robot for transporting the substrate W, is provided in the transfer chamber. The second transfer robotincludes a robot handthat supports the substrate W. The robot handenters the process spacein the process chamberwhile supporting the substrate W. The substrate lifting pinof the substrate lifting moduleis raised to support the substrate W, and when the robot handis moved out of the process space, the substrate lifting pinis lowered, so the substrate W is supported by the chuck.

Hereinafter, a method of adjusting the height of the ring member R by measuring the etch amount of the ring member R will be described. In the substrate processing apparatus, as the substrate processing time and the number of processing cycles using plasma increase, the ring member R is etched, whereby plasma may be non-uniformly distributed. To maintain a uniform plasma distribution, the ring member R is raised by the etch amount thereof.

Generally, a method of raising the ring member R by predicting the etch amount of the ring member R according to the processing time, i.e., a method of raising the ring member R by a height corresponding to the processing time, is used. However, the method of raising the ring member R by a height corresponding to the processing time is based on an estimate rather than actual data, making it highly likely to be inaccurate.

800 510 510 Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a substrate processing apparatus designed to calculate the etch amount of the ring member R using the substrate-type sensor device, which is configured to check the internal state of the process chamberwithout opening the process chamber, thereby enabling more reliable and accurate adjustment of the height of the ring member R.

4 FIG. 800 800 800 is a view showing a state in which the substrate-type sensor devicehas entered the process chamber in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present disclosure. The substrate-type sensor devicehas a shape corresponding to the substrate W. The substrate-type sensor devicemay be disc-shaped, like a 300 mm wafer.

800 810 820 830 840 810 820 830 840 810 820 830 840 810 820 830 810 840 810 820 830 840 4 FIG. The substrate-type sensor devicemay include a circular plate, a laser light source, a camera, and a wireless communication module. The circular platemay have a shape corresponding to the substrate W. The laser light source, the camera, and the wireless communication modulemay be mounted on the upper or lower surface of the circular plate. In addition, a power supply device (e.g., a battery) that supplies power to the laser light source, the camera, and the wireless communication modulemay be mounted on the circular plate. As shown in, the laser light sourceand the cameramay be mounted on the lower surface of the circular plate, and the wireless communication modulemay be mounted on the upper surface of the circular plate. The laser light source, the camera, and the wireless communication modulemay be electrically connected to one another.

820 820 552 820 800 The laser light sourcemay emit a laser beam in a predetermined direction. The laser light sourcemay direct the laser beam toward the chuckand the ring member R. Alternatively, instead of the laser light source, a light source such as a light-emitting diode (LED) may be provided in the substrate-type sensor device.

830 511 510 830 820 830 552 830 700 840 840 700 The cameramay capture an image of the interior of the process spacein the process chamber. The cameramay capture an image of an area irradiated by the laser beam from the laser light source. The cameramay capture an image including the chuckand the ring member R. The cameramay transmit the captured image data to the controllervia the wireless communication module. The wireless communication modulemay transmit data to the controllerusing a wireless communication standard such as Wi-Fi.

820 800 552 552 830 700 700 In order to measure the etch amount of the ring member R, the laser light sourceof the substrate-type sensor deviceemits a laser beam to the chuckand the ring member R. In this case, the image including the chuckand the ring member R, captured by the camera, is transmitted to the controller. The controllermay measure the etch amount of the ring member R based on the captured image.

4 FIG. 800 511 510 352 350 800 552 352 820 552 830 552 800 700 840 As shown in, the substrate-type sensor devicemay be moved into the process spacein the process chamberwhile being supported by the robot handof the transfer robot. In the state in which the substrate-type sensor deviceis spaced apart from the chuckwhile being supported by the robot hand, the laser light sourcemay direct a laser beam toward the chuckand the ring member R, and the cameramay capture an image including the chuckand the ring member R. The substrate-type sensor devicemay transmit the image to the controllervia the wireless communication module.

5 FIG. 5 a FIG.() 5 b FIG.() 830 800 shows examples of images captured by the cameraof the substrate-type sensor devicein the substrate processing apparatus according to the present disclosure.shows an example of a first image captured at a first time point, andshows an example of a second image captured at a second time point after the first time point.

700 552 552 1 552 2 552 3 4 1 4 700 1 4 700 1 1 2 4 1 2 1 2 1 2 5 5 a b FIGS.() and() The controllermay detect an area corresponding to the chuckand an area corresponding to the ring member R in the image, and may compare the shape of the chuckwith the shape of the ring member R in the image to measure the etch amount of the ring member R. As shown in, a first area Rcorresponding to the chuck, a second area Rcorresponding to a depressed portion in the edge of the chuck, a third area Rcorresponding to the boundary surface of the ring member R, and a fourth area Rcorresponding to the upper surface of the ring member R are detected. Each of the areas Rto Rmay be defined in advance in the image. Alternatively, the controllermay detect each of the areas Rto Rin the captured image. In the present disclosure, the controllermay compare a chuck reference line Ldetected in the first area Rwith a ring reference line Ldetected in the fourth area Rin the image to measure the etch amount of the ring member R. The chuck reference line Land the ring reference line Lare lines parallel to the horizontal axis of the image. The vertical heights of the chuck reference line Land the ring reference line Lmay be defined in the image, and the height of the chuck reference line Land the height of the ring reference line Lmay be compared with each other to measure the etch amount of the ring member R.

700 1 552 2 1 2 700 2 1 1 2 The controllermay detect the chuck reference line Lcorresponding to the surface of the chuckand the ring reference line Lcorresponding to the upper surface of the ring member R in the image, and may compare the position of the chuck reference line Lwith the position of the ring reference line Lto measure the etch amount of the ring member R. The controllermay calculate the difference (L-L) between the height of the chuck reference line Land the height of the ring reference line L, and may calculate the etch amount of the ring member R based on the height difference.

700 5 a FIG.() 5 b FIG.() The controllermay compare the first image captured at the first time point (refer to) with the second image captured after a predetermined time period has elapsed from the first time point or after the process has been performed a predetermined number of times (refer to), thereby measuring the etch amount of the ring member R.

700 1 552 2 2 1 1 2 700 1 552 2 2 1 1 2 700 a a a a a a b b b b b b The controllermay detect a first chuck reference line Lcorresponding to the surface of the chuckand a first ring reference line Lcorresponding to the upper surface of the ring member R in the first image, and may measure a first distance Da (=L-L) between the first chuck reference line Land the first ring reference line Lin the first image. The controllermay detect a second chuck reference line Lcorresponding to the surface of the chuckand a second ring reference line Lcorresponding to the upper surface of the ring member R in the second image, and may measure a second distance Db (=L-L) between the second chuck reference line Land the second ring reference line Lin the second image. The controllermay measure the etch amount of the ring member R based on the difference (Da−Db) between the first distance Da and the second distance Db. For example, if the first distance Da is 300 μm in the first image and the second distance Db is −10 μm in the second image, it may be confirmed that 310 μm of etching has occurred.

700 560 700 560 700 560 700 560 The controllermay control the ring lifting deviceto raise the ring member R when the etch amount of the ring member R exceeds a reference value (e.g., 100 μm). The controllermay control the ring lifting deviceto maintain the height of the ring member R until the etch amount reaches the reference value and to raise the ring member R upon determining that the etch amount exceeds the reference value. The controllermay control the ring lifting deviceto raise the ring member R by a height corresponding to the etch amount of the ring member R. For example, upon determining that 300 μm of etching has occurred in the ring member R, the controllermay control the ring lifting deviceto raise the ring member R by 300 μm.

6 FIG. 552 800 820 830 511 510 610 820 552 620 830 552 630 640 650 is a flowchart showing a method of adjusting the height of the ring member R in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present disclosure. As described above, there is provided a method of adjusting the height of the ring member R located around the edge of the chuckthat supports the substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus using plasma. The method of adjusting the height of the ring member R includes a step of placing the substrate-type sensor device, which has a shape corresponding to the substrate W and is provided with the laser light sourceand the camera, in the process spacein the process chamber(S), a step of emitting, by the laser light source, a laser beam to the chuckand the ring member R (S), a step of capturing, by the camera, an image including the chuckand the ring member R (S), a step of measuring the etch amount of the ring member R based on the image (S), and a step of adjusting the height of the ring member R based on the etch amount of the ring member R (S).

610 800 511 510 800 511 352 350 4 FIG. In step S, the substrate-type sensor deviceis placed in the process spacein the process chamber. As shown in, the substrate-type sensor deviceis moved into the process spacewhile being supported by the robot handof the transfer robot.

620 820 552 630 830 552 800 352 552 820 552 830 552 In step S, the laser light sourceemits a laser beam to the chuckand the ring member R. In step S, the cameracaptures an image including the chuckand the ring member R. With the substrate-type sensor devicebeing supported by the robot handand spaced apart from the chuck, the laser light sourcemay direct a laser beam toward the chuckand the ring member R, and the cameramay capture an image including the chuckand the ring member R.

640 700 640 1 552 2 1 2 In step S, the controllermeasures the etch amount of the ring member R based on the image. The step of measuring the etch amount of the ring member R based on the image (S) may include a step of detecting the chuck reference line Lcorresponding to the surface of the chuckin the image, a step of detecting the ring reference line Lcorresponding to the upper surface of the ring member R, and a step of comparing the position of the chuck reference line Lwith the position of the ring reference line Lto measure the etch amount of the ring member R.

640 1 552 2 1 2 1 552 2 1 2 a a a a b b b b The step of measuring the etch amount of the ring member R (S) includes a step of comparing the first image captured at the first time point with the second image captured after a predetermined time period has elapsed from the first time point or after the process has been performed a predetermined number of times to measure the etch amount of the ring member R. The step of measuring the etch amount of the ring member R includes a step of detecting the first chuck reference line Lcorresponding to the surface of the chuckand the first ring reference line Lcorresponding to the upper surface of the ring member R in the first image and a step of measuring the first distance Da between the first chuck reference line Land the first ring reference line Lin the first image. The step of measuring the etch amount of the ring member R includes a step of detecting the second chuck reference line Lcorresponding to the surface of the chuckand the second ring reference line Lcorresponding to the upper surface of the ring member R in the second image and a step of measuring the second distance Db between the second chuck reference line Land the second ring reference line Lin the second image. The step of measuring the etch amount of the ring member R includes a step of measuring the etch amount of the ring member R based on the difference (Db-Da) between the first distance Da and the second distance Db.

650 700 560 650 560 In step S, the controlleradjusts the height of the ring member R based on the etch amount of the ring member R using the ring lifting device. The step of adjusting the height of the ring member R (S) includes a step of controlling the ring lifting deviceto raise the ring member R when the etch amount of the ring member R exceeds a reference value.

650 560 The step of adjusting the height of the ring member R (S) includes a step of controlling the ring lifting deviceto raise the ring member R by a height corresponding to the etch amount of the ring member R.

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present disclosure, since an image including the chuck and the ring member is captured using the substrate-type sensor device and the etch amount of the ring member is measured based on the image, it may be possible to check the etch amount of the ring member without opening the chamber and to appropriately adjust the height of the ring member.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

The scope of the present disclosure should be defined only by the accompanying claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents to the claims should be construed as falling within the scope of the disclosure.